The Final Journey

by John Bevilaqua (United States of America)

A leap into the unknown USA

The Final Journey By John Bevilaqua I did not know when we met in high school that Mary Alice would one day be my wife. Not only were we in Junior Achievement together but we both wound up at the same university where she would be sweetheart of my fraternity. We never dated but remained friends although we married others, had children and both moved away from Atlanta for a short period. After returning to Atlanta we learned that we lived less than one mile apart with our respective spouses. An occasional chance meeting happened but with both of us married, our friendship was already defined. I got divorced in 1994 and she was divorced in 2000. We reconnected again as she was going through a battle with breast cancer that year. Despite that reality we began dating and soon fell in love. Little did we know that she would battle cancer three more times in her all too short life. We lived together for a while and traveled extensively, both happier than ever in our second marriages. Aside from ovarian cancer, life was idyllic. We loved, traveled, entertained and enjoyed friends and family while suffering the side effects of surgery and chemotherapy .Throughout it all we stayed positive, determined to beat the disease. In 2010 we decided to formalize our commitment to each other and flew to Malta where we got married overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with my brother and best friend by my side. Afterwards, we flew to Italy and spent the most wonderful week of my life on a honeymoon on the Amalfi Coast. She was cancer-free and it was the happiest times of our adult life. We returned to Atlanta and enjoyed time with her daughter (Elisabeth) and my two sons (John Paul and Matthew). In 2013 the ovarian cancer returned for the third time and it was lodged in her liver. After a successful radiation treatment, she started low dose chemo and was doing well in her recovery. Her attitude of “never give in” was always part of her battle against the disease and we remained solidly committed to winning the battle together on our life journey. In spring 2014 she was admitted to the hospital with a low-grade fever and persistent, dry cough. She was having difficulty breathing and her lungs were riddled with fibrosis. Little did we know that her body had a toxic reaction to the chemo agent that was prescribed. I finally had to take her off life support in June 2014. The love of my life was gone. After cremation and a celebration of life, her sweet remains wound up in a polished wooden box in my bedroom. Not only was the love of my life gone but I had no idea what to do with her earthly remains. The answer came soon enough. Our best friends, Mike and Joanne Joiner, who were with us in Malta when we married, had scheduled a cruise in 2016 and one port of call was Amalfi. We arranged to meet in Italy and I took her remains with me to Amalfi. I met the Joiners on the Amalfi coast and we went to the rocky shores of the Santa Katerina Hotel about 30 meters below the honeymoon suite where we had spent those wonderful hours celebrating our love just a few years before. Together we spread her ashes to the wind in the Mediterranean Sea with more than a few hugs and tears. Never in my life could I have imagined that I would marry my high school and college friend in a beautiful European venue. Nor could I have had any idea that our dream love life would end the way it did. Mary Alice’s final journey was one filled with love and sadness but her messages from beyond the grave clearly indicated that we are and will always be soulmates. Our final journey is far from over and I look forward to the next chapter wherever it takes us for it will truly be “the final journey.”